Fast track guidelines for the students' loan scheme

Moses Nuwagaba

Many Ugandans learnt with great relief the government decision to provide sh5b for the students’ loan scheme. However, there have been conflicting messages from some of our leaders all pointing to the possibility that this scheme may not be well thought out yet.

First, was President Museveni who, in line with the NRM manifesto, announced the Government was planning to establish a students’ loan scheme that would be “extended to excelling students to pursue their tertiary education”. Later, Ugandans were told by Education Minister, Jessica Alupo, that the proposed students’ loan scheme was meant to replace the Government scholarship scheme at university.

The Finance Minister, Maria Kiwanuka, while delivering the 2013/2014 budget, said the scheme would only target science students to enhance science-based skills in line with national priorities. According to the commissioner for secondary education, Elizabeth Gabona, a secretariat for the loan scheme has already been created at the education ministry to do this job and the guidelines to this scheme will be set by the time the first semester begins.

Now, this is what I want fast-tracked. Senior six leavers who received their UNEB results this year are remaining with just two months to join university or any other institution. Considering the hefts of cash required for tuition and other scholastic needs, it is important that the students who may want to benefit from the loan scheme apply early enough.  For the students who may not qualify, their parents and guardians may need to know in time in order to find other sources of money.

Another issue that the operational guidelines of this scheme need to handle is the question of administrative costs.  Often the Government has initiated projects, the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme inclusive, only to fizzle out and die a natural death without any tangible results. Many of these, of course, have collapsed under the heavy weights of their own administrative costs. The students’ loan scheme is too sensitive to our communities to be let loose by anybody.

We have also another matter that needs to be clear; whether indeed the Government scholarship programme will run concurrently with this loan scheme. This will settle the hearts of Arts students, many of who are now embroiled in mere guesswork. The education ministry has said, for the beginning, only 1000 science students will be supported. It is not clear where the remaining science students who may be qualifying and are admitted to public universities will go for tuition support.

Then there is the question of district quotas. Ugandans need to know what is being done to synchronise the students’ loan scheme with the district quotas policy, especially, in light of the fact that most rural districts do actually have no A’level science students. Then also there is this ugly fact that the most likely beneficiaries to this scheme are children from rich families after all they are the ones that pass UNEB exams after accessing good education in good schools.

Lastly, I want to implore our MPs to restrain from their usual political ping pong when considering the students’ loan scheme. The would-be beneficiaries are impatiently waiting for the final whistle.

The writer is a social, political commentator. nuwagabamoses@gmail.com